1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for illuminating an affected part or capturing an image of an affected part while illuminating the affected part.
2. Description of the Background Art
At the time of treating an affected part, a medical lighting apparatus for illuminating the affected part with proper illuminance is required. In particular, a medical lighting apparatus for dental application is attached to a tip of a hanger arm mounted at a peripheral side portion of a treatment chair for dental application and swingable in a vertical or horizontal direction. To brightly illuminating the oral cavity of a patient on the treatment chair for dental application, the operator moves and turns on the medical lighting apparatus. A conventional medical lighting apparatus has a configuration that a halogen lamp is used as a light source and an affected part is irradiated with light reflected by a mirror plate. Recently, a medical lighting apparatus using an LED (Light Emitting Diode) as a light source as described in patent document 1 (Japanese Registered Utility Model No. 3,084,178) has been also developed.
Patent document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-288457) discloses a lighting apparatus for dental application having illuminating means mounted on the side of a treatment chair for dental application and for illuminating the oral cavity of a patient on the treatment chair for dental application. In the lighting apparatus for dental application according to the patent document 2, light emitting means also has a function of emitting excitation light that makes a non-healthy part in the oval cavity emit fluorescence.
Patent document 3 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-237081) discloses an apparatus for capturing an image of an affected part inside an oral cavity and the like while illuminating the affected part.
The patent document 3 discloses a technique of disposing an LED (Light Emitting Diode) around image capturing means and, while illuminating an affected part by the LED, capturing an image of the illuminated affected part by the image capturing means.